Frostmark
General Frostmark is a frontier land where small hamlets and tribes predominate. There are a few walled towns in the two Dunns, but most of the population lives in smaller groups in the mountains, hills, woods, or out on the ice. Although they acknowledge they are part of some sort of nation, they do not directly pay homage to their sovereign, except during wartime, or if the sovereign is raiding somewhere nearby. For the most part, the people of Frostmark are free and keep to their kin. Dwarves have a large portion of the populace in Frostmark, although humans, elves and even orcs exist among the citizenry, especially to the east. There are smaller Dwarven holds in the hills, from the Corgain Peaks in the west, all the way to the Meisceoireacht (mis-kay-wa-REKT) Hills in the east. There are also stone, hill and frost giants that call Frostmark their home. They are even more insular than the dwarves, but they, too, answer the call to war or to go for a raid on Icereach. They are not often seen in the walled towns, but it is not rare to see signs of them in the hills far from town. The terrain of Frostmark is markedly hilly and cold. There is a month or two of warmth, but most of the year, Frostmark is ready for winter. The ice from Icereach creeps south, closing any access to open water on the northern coast for at least half of the year. There are breaks in the ice here and there, but the ice descends and surrounds the hills of Frostmark in the dead of winter. Recent History More on the recent history of Frostmark Government and Culture There is quite a bit of raiding between some of the tribes who live in Frostmark, but there is also great kinship which binds the tribes together. A tribe will never wipe out another tribe, rather just take what they need and return home. The greatest task for the tribes of Frostmark is to keep the evil Night, Ice and Frost Giants of Icereach from invading the south. The tribes of Frostmark join man and friendly local giant together to periodically raid the northern ices in an attempt to continually disrupt the power of Icereach so it will not have an opportunity to attack the south. There is some sort of demonic giant embodying the dark spirit of Thang-Gwr out on the ice, and for that reason, the people of Frostmark remain vigilant. Because the warriors of Frostmark spend a portion of their lives raiding the evil Giants, the rest of the world is apprehensive of these tribal, primitive folk to the far north. For the cities and more common hamlets, the King of Frostmark is found in Black Dunn, perched just above two great moors in the southern part of the country. The Family Gwin has long ruled Black Dunn and has earned homage from the people across Frostmark for their battle prowess and bravery. Regions There are two side by side regions in Frostmark, the Dunns and the East Dunns, both covered in hills, mountains and moors, but mostly ice during the winter months. Dunns The Dunns are quite mountainous and cold. The hills to the west are barely penetrable, although people find a way to live there. Nonetheless, it is not a safe place to live, whether the wild creatures who live there or the Ice Giants from the reach find their way to you and do you in. There is a peaceful valley that runs along the road between Black Dunns and Garland, and this is where any substantial farming (as short as season as it is) can be found. Of course, there are moors to the east and west of the valley, crowding those few fields even further. Nothing is safe in the Dunns, except perhaps the walled cities, and those are safe only because the people of the Dunns do go out and raid and hunt those who would invade or attack. One attack the Dunns are always watchful of is that which started the Great War. The Ruins of Caer Ddaden has scouts watching it from a distance to make sure there is no great activity emerging. The Ruins have never been fully cleared, but the Ur forces have been long gone. There are still creatures living in the deep complex, but few have gone to investigate and survive. Outside the two walled towns, the hamlets do raid each other, mostly because they like to war. The raids are mostly to pillage something, and rarely are they to truly damage the other village, except in cases of blood feud. In most cases, a village attacker and attackee will potentially work together for a raid out on the ice without even a second thought. The land has war and valor in its blood. Character Characteristics Humanoid Characteristics: Red hair, burly, large frame Humanoid Stats: +2 Str, +2 Con Languages: ''Dunnagh, Gagged Baar, Lireann Sé (E), Gagged Baar(D, ½), Loborahn (O) Cities of the Dunns, Frostmark Black Dunn "''Black Dunn is so far south!!!" ''says pretty much everyone in Frostmark, let alone the Dunns. It's not true, and it is true from a Frostmark perspective. It lies close to the border with Calandiren, but it's not far from the Bolsîo (BOL-sho) Sea nor Icereach. Black Dunn sits at the south edge of the Dunns and close to many roads, another anomaly in Frostmark. Most of Frostmark is serviced by no roads, so having four is quite a difference. There are also two dangerous moors near Black Dunn, Baile Moor (Bella moor) and Bhaile-na-Moor (Vella na moor). It's true they harden during the winter, but it makes them only slightly less dangerous. We are in Frostmark and there is little that isn't dangerous here. The people of Black Dunn are proud and varied. There are some elves and humans, but mostly dwarves and giants inhabit the city, making it a strange place compared to the entirety of Eirethune. Frostmark itself is a clan and tribe based competitive culture and here lies a town that holds them together under one King that they deem worthy of putting aside their differences. Family Gwin has been an important part of Frostmark for many generations, but they truly raised their respect during the Great War. Frostmark is a land of constant competitiveness, but family Gwin has earned the reverence of the people to an extent that there is no question as to leadership in Frostmark. There are giants and dwarves who live beyond the small towns and hamlets, and yet they, too, are supportive of the family Gwin and their ability to lead and their cognizance of what they might face. King Gwin does post bounties and they are heartily gathered by locals and adventurers alike. The land must be preserved and there are plenty of dangers abounding. King Gwin also does his duty by sending his own men as well as volunteers to assist in the Watch over Caer Ddaden Ruins. They respect the danger those ancient ruins face and work with Mainore and Farran to make sure there is always someone with eyes on the keep complex. The shops and artisans of Black Dunn are the best in Frostmark. The quality of the armor and weaponsmithing anywhere in Frostmark is excellent, but in Black Dunn, the trade extends their ability to provide whatever is necessary for martial action beyond what can be found in other parts of Frostmark. The main temples in Black Dunn are dedicated to Thakune, Dagilian and Astoda, although there are shrines to the Guardian Gods all over the city. There are also shrines to other Children Gods, but Frostmark knows what they like. Garland Garland sits atop some hills which look over a thin valley. The roads get rougher and fewer north of Garland as it is the launch point for many raids heading north across the Bolsîo (BOL-sho) Sea, and on to the Icereach. Life in Garland is tough, and probably even tougher outside the walls of the town. The moors to the west, north and south are all quite dangerous, yet the people of this northern town will persevere. Garland is predominantly dwarf, yet a good number of giants and humans also live there. Family Dwr Am is the current ruling family of Garland and have been for a generation or so. It is common for leadership to change in Garland, as it is in most of Frostmark. When a family can't truly prove themselves worthy of leadership, someone will make a not-so-subtle suggestion that it would be in their best interests for them to step down. Lord Dwr Am is strong right now, but who knows what will happen in another 100 years. The Lord will post bounties and the clans in the area or the errant adventurer will take up the call and see what really happens. The shops and artisans of Garland are focused on supporting the raid and surviving the winter. Hard tack, portable shelters, even small water craft that could be ported, or flipped and used as a shelter are important to to inventory of the people of Garland. The martial items are quite good, but you need something strong and deadly to take down anything on Icereach. The main temples of Garland are dedicated to Thakune, Sapayo and Astoda. There are sacrifices to the 3 gods of the town before every raid or fest. There are shrines to many other gods, but the 3 main gods of Garland suit most people just right. The East Dunns The East Dunns has more wood and valley than its western namesake. For this reason, more elves and humans are present here than dwarves. There are also a couple very large moors present in the East Dunns, which, when viewed from the rise upon which Batch Moor sits, seem even more vast; the Amareach Doimhin (am-a-REK DUH-vin) Moor being one of the largest in the world. The eastern Meisceoireacht (mis-Kay-wa-REKT) Hills and Follain Forest divide the East Dunns from Rhorden and the steppes beyond. On the west, the Dunn Wood is the defacto fence between the two Dunns. To the south, the Ceoltoireacht (Kay-ol-twa-REKT) Hills divide the East Dunns from Calandiren. The East Dunn Plains serve as one of the few places in all of Frostmark where agriculture is viable, for at least part of the year. At least tubers and greens can be present for a while. The towns of the East Dunns trade much with Calandiren, having routine trade caravans exchange with Farran. There is also a modicum of trade with some of the clans in Rhorden. They share the same worries of the north and this has brought the people of the East Dunns and Rhorden together when protecting their people. Since the Great War, there have been joint scouting parties into the Steppes to the north, leading the two regions to understand each other a bit more. For this reason, there is some minor trade on a quasi-regular basis with the horse clans out in the Misniuil (MIS-nyu-il) Plains. The East Dunns are not quite as warlike as the west. There is a sense of rebuilding and growth in the east that has existed since the Night Giants destroyed most everything during The Ice Wrought Doom. The hamlets in the East Dunn Plains are completely helpful to each other in times of need, which is sometimes confusing to the westerners who visit the East Dunns. Regardless, both of the Dunns work together when raiding question, for the hunt is something that both areas enjoy. Character Characteristics ''Humanoid Characteristics: Red Hair, Slight Frame Humanoid Stats: ''+2 Str, +1 Dex, +1 Wis ''Languages: ''Dunnagh, Gagged Baar, Lireann Sé (E), Gagged Baar(D, ½), Loborahn (O) Cities of the East Dunns Mainore Mainore is a proud town backed up against the Ceoltoireacht (Kay-ol-twa-REKT) Hills in the East Dunn Plains. The settlements out in the plains, hills, and even those daring enough to be in the Follain Forest bring their wares to Mainore, serving as a community center for the clans and folks in the East Dunns. The main road through the eastern part of the country travels through Mainore, providing most of the foreign trade that the east will see. The people in the east are not quite as combative clans in the west, but they are Frostmark, nonetheless. They still have the honor and live as valorous lives as those in the west. The Family Perduin is the current ruling family and has been since before the Great War. The family are merchants and hunters, and the extended family is quite active in the raids. They also historically have proved their worth in each of the major battles that Frostmark has faced. They were among the last people to leave Mainore when the Night Giants came to crush the city in [[the Ice Wrought Doom|the ''Ice Wrought Doom]]. ''They raced forth on to the ice to fight back the giants in the ''Battle of Gjad and Horbok ''during the Great War. The people of Mainore respect Family Perduin, and the Lords and Ladies Perduin respect them back, having audiences at least once per week to hear issues in the East Dunns. Lord Perduin will post bounties, and they are plentiful, given the relatively hostile nature of the area in the East Dunns. Lord Perduin also accepts volunteer service to take the watch over Caer Ddaden Ruins. Working with Black Dunn and Farran, the ancient House of Raj Gohn potentially holds existential dangers which will not catch Mainore and Frostmark off guard. .The shops and artisans of Mainore are decent. Most of the local work is focused on items martial or agrarian. Being in Frostmark, there is much hard tack and goods for survival, because Frostmark knows the snows will arrive soon and lay deep. The main temples in Mainore are dedicated to Astoda, Sapayo and Thopila. There are many shrines to other gods, but the people of Mainore are focused on who they are and what they need to survive. Batch Moor Batch Moor is the vanguard of Frostmark and a town quite pronounceable by foreigners, even though the environmental landmarks around it look as though someone named them that could not type. Batch Moor is at the end of the major road in the East Dunns, surrounded by two large and relatively dangerous peet bogs which turn nearly to stone in winter, the Chwaer Doimhin (Kwair DUH-vin) Moor and the Amareach Doimhin (A-ma-rek DUH-vin) Moor. Trails lead north through the Meisceoireacht (mis-Kay-wa-REKT) Hills, across the Meisceoireacht River, to a small hamlet and port on the Bolsîo' '''(BOL-sho) Sea, which becomes the last outpost heading north into Icereach. For a place so remote, Batch Moor has very wide demographics. There are more orcs, elves and humans in Batch Moor than anywhere in the western Dunns, and there are certainly dwarves and giants in Batch Moor as well. The people of Batch Moor are mostly hunters and warriors with some distilling as well, given the good peet in the moors. There are also a surprising number of visitors from other lands, typically Calandiren and Rhorden, in Batch Moor, since this is the major mustering point for raids both out into Icereach and into the Shadows of Kazden. Family Baxmen, a generally human family with a bit of giant thrown in, is the ruling family of Batch Moor. They have ruled Batch Moor for generations now, and have proven themselves to the people of Batch Moor, the Dunns and Frostmark as strong and loyal fighters and servants to the land. Lord Baxmen, himself, goes out on raids, and will even go on hunting trips with people of Batch Moor or anyone who has proven themselves a good hunter or will be a benefit to Frostmark. When trouble arises, which it does, Lord Baxmen will post bounties or gather up a group of warriors and hunters and take care of the business himself. The shops and artisans in Batch Moor are focused on hunting and items martial. There is hard tack and equipment for survival - good equipment for survival - throughout the year, as you never know when the ice will start to come over the land. It can definitely snow in high summer here, so the survival is always on the mind of the people (and shopkeepers) of Batch Moor. The temples in Batch Moor are dedicated to Sapayo, Astoda and Hadokahn. There is a decent sized temple to Kaelia as well, and shrines to the rest of the Children Gods as well as the Guardian Gods present in town. There is a lot of traffic in Batch Moor since it is a mustering point for raids to the north, so the people from Calandiren and Rhorden who come here will need their favorite equipment as well.